


Comfort

by Triarose



Category: Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Genre: Game Spoilers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-22
Updated: 2014-04-22
Packaged: 2018-01-20 10:33:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1507334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triarose/pseuds/Triarose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emil has doubts.  Tenebrae offers some comfort.  Slight spoilers for up to the end of the game.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a prompt at gargantsurprise on livejournal for this coupling, specifically "Puttin' those transformation skills to use." My mind immediately went here. Here is the human form I've been using in my head for Tenebrae, feel free to go and let the artist feel some love: http://www.advancedanime.com/displayimage.php?pid=334692 Also, this may not be as explicit to some as I've tagged it; just playing it safe!

Emil was upset. Tenebrae knew this, and would have even if the boy had been better at hiding things than he was. It was, in a way, his job to know; to anticipate his master’s needs and provide for them. So it was that he found himself approaching the boy in the late night, after everyone else had gone to sleep. The inn they had found to stay in was not particularly luxurious, but they had scrounged up enough gald to afford separate rooms for once, so he was unconcerned that anyone would overhear any conversation they may have. The boy sat alone, on his bed, looking forlorn and deeply thoughtful when Tenebrae appeared overhead.

“Lord Emil? What is troubling you?”

“Tenebrae?” The boy shook his head, looking conflicted. He paused, looking as if he wanted to say something more before shaking his head again. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry.”

Well that only made him worry more. The boy had grown more reserved since the truth had come out about his nature, and the Centurion was not the only one to notice or to be concerned. Lady Marta, especially, had been quite worried tonight when Emil had hardly eaten anything or spoken to anyone but had apparently decided to respect his privacy. Clearly the boy had a lot on his mind. But it was Tenebrae’s (admittedly self-imposed) duty to make sure he was ready for what was sure to come.

“Now, now, Emil.” He settled down beside the boy. “We’ve traveled together long enough for me to know that something is troubling you. So why don’t you just relax and tell me all about it?”

The boy paused still, so he added “Lady Marta and the others are concerned as well, you know. And it would be good to clear your head of any doubts before we journey any further.”

“You’re right.” Emil sighed, and ducked his head down, looking a little embarrassed. Why was everyone able to read him so easily? “I guess I’m just… scared.” 

Before Tenebrae could muster a response he plowed forward. “What am I supposed to do Tenebrae? What if we can’t change Ratatosk’s mind and I become him and everyone dies because of me?!”

“Emil…”

“I don’t know if I can do this! What if I’m not strong enough? What if the other me takes over and everything goes wrong?”

“Emil, I don’t know what will happen any more than you do. Still, I doubt that Lloyd and company would allow you to destroy the world, even if you did lose yourself. And you don’t seem to realize how strong you’ve become.” He leaned against the boy, trying to encourage him through touch. “I highly doubt that anything as bad as what you fear will come to pass.”

Emil flushed a little at the praise, but tears had begun to well up in his eyes. It was still painfully clear that he didn’t consider himself as strong as everyone else had come to regard him. Tenebrae’s words were reaching him, but it wasn’t enough, the Centurion could already see that.

“Please… don’t tell anyone, especially not Marta. I don’t want to make her worry.”

“Emil…” he breathed softly. “No, I won’t tell a soul.”

He willed the change, knowing that Emil needed more than just comforting words right now. Two arms, two legs, and a myriad of other parts that he had learned that humans didn’t function well without through trial and error over the years (and hadn’t that been embarrassing on occasion?). It was a form he’d used before, from time to time, when he simply had to be human shaped, but not anyone else in particular. Not that he hadn’t considered being someone else for this task, but he couldn’t think of anyone who would suit. Things could get confusing quickly when he resembled someone other than himself.  
He brought newly formed hands to Emil’s shoulders and the boy jumped a little, pulling back in astonishment. A pale man, just a little taller than himself, had taken the Centurion’s place beside him.

“Is this part of the shape-shifting that Raine was talking about?”

Tenebrae chuckled, a deep, throaty sound. “You humans are so strange. I thought a human form might be more comforting to you in your time of need. I do hope I look alright.”

“No, um, you look fine.”

“I should hope I look better than fine, dear boy. Unless I’ve forgotten my nose again,” he reached up and patted his nose briefly, “No. Good. Quite embarrassing when I do that.”

Tenebrae was so strange sometimes. “You look good,” he rushed to reassure him. He was pretty sure Tenebrae was just teasing him again, but the Centurion could be surprisingly vain, and fishing for compliments was not out of the range of possibilities. And he did look good; long and lean, with dark hair, golden eyes, and just the slightest dark markings against his skin denoting where the same markings were found in his normal form. He seemed to be dressed in dark clothes as well, though in dim light and close quarters Emil would be hard pressed to say what exactly the other was wearing.

“Ah, well, I suppose that will have to do,” he said, though he was smiling as he said it, clearly pleased with Emil’s words. “Now, where were we? Ah, yes. A hug.” He wrapped his arms around Emil’s shoulders and pulled him close. Emil flailed a moment, caught off guard, but Tenebrae simply hummed to himself a bit and held on while the boy became used to the embrace.

Emil, for his part, relaxed a little after a moment, and wrapped his arms around the Centurion’s waist to return the embrace. He felt flushed and unsure, despite, or perhaps because of, being held against the much older being. He wasn’t used to people trying to comfort him, and certainly not attractive men who weren’t really men at all. Not that he had a thing for attractive men! Ricter’s face popped briefly into his head, but he forced that thought away and locked it as far down in his brain as it would go. That certainly didn’t prove anything!

But it did, didn’t it? Perhaps now wasn’t the best time for internal debate. What he did know was that he didn’t want to be alone right now. “Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.”

“What was that, Lord Emil?”

“Oh, um,” he pulled back, breaking the hug as he began blushing. This was difficult to ask. “I was just wondering if you’d stay here tonight, with me? I don’t really want to be alone.”

Tenebrae laughed, surprised. “Why Emil! Is this a proposition?”

“What!?” Emil reddened even further. “No, it’s not like that!”

The Centurion grinned knowingly. “Come now, Lord Emil,” he purred, pushing back into Emil’s personal space again. “I really don’t mind. After all I am here to serve you and all of your needs.”

“Tenebrae, you’re starting to freak me out a little.”

“If you want to get ‘freaked out’, I am more than happy to oblige.”

“I’m not sure that’s what you meant to say.”

Tenebrae leaned further forward, his dark hair brushing against Emil’s face as he whispered in his ear, “Does it really matter?”

No, no it didn’t. The air against the shell of his ear made Emil shiver. He could feel himself starting to get aroused, and while he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, maybe it was time to just stop worrying and let things happen. He spent far too much time worrying lately, and it was making him very tired. Certainly it wouldn’t be that bad, right? Tenebrae seemed pretty confident, after all. “I don’t really know what to do.”

“I know,” he replied, pulling back from his ear and letting some humor color his voice. “Don’t worry so much. I’ll take good care of you.”

“Okay.”

Tenebrae shifted, leaning forward as he moved to capture Emil’s lips in a quick kiss. It only lasted for a few moments, surprisingly chaste, before he pulled back again, watching the younger boy carefully. Emil tried to control his expression, beating back his natural feeling of hesitancy; if he was opening this door then he’d have to see it through. Whatever Tenebrae saw there must have been encouraging.

“Well, it’s decided then!” The Centurion proclaimed joyously. He reached down, grabbed Emil’s knees, and pulled, flipping the boy onto his back with a surprised whoomph of air. In a matter of minutes he was crawling over the blonde, the dark, silky soft cloth brushing against bare skin. Emil started. Bare skin?

“My clothes!”

“Yes, forgive me, but I don’t think we’ll be needing them just now.” He forestalled further questions by kissing the boy soundly. Emil made a soft noise, deep in his throat as he opened his mouth to the questing lips and tongue and let himself be invaded. He even tried to return the attention, although he felt strange doing so. He hadn’t even really thought about kissing somebody like this before, so it all seemed very strange to him, this collusion of tongues and lips, all heat and dampness. It was kindling something deep in his belly, and he shifted underneath Tenebrae. This in turn brought a wealth of new sensations to him as his hardening cock rubbed against the strange, smooth fabric of the Centurion’s clothing. Whimpering softly, he fisted his hands into the fabric of the bedspread beneath him.

Tenebrae pulled back from the kiss, moving lower, following his jawline down to his neck with his tongue. Emil’s breath caught as he hit an especially sensitive spot on his neck, and he squirmed, reveling in the feeling of his cock caught against the fabric. The dark haired Centurion’s weight shifted as he freed a hand, running it down Emil’s side to stop the younger boy’s movements and keep things from ending much too quickly. As much as this was about Emil, he had to admit that it was giving him a bit of a thrill as well. Having a being as powerful as this beneath you, submitting to your touch was heady enough, but having that being in the form of an attractive, willing, and hopelessly naïve young man was a potent mixture indeed. True appreciation would doubtless have been lost had anyone else been in his place now.

Lady Marta, for example… 

No, he wasn’t going to think about Lady Marta right now. And if he could help it, neither would Emil. He worked his way across protruding collar bones and down the expanse of the blonde’s chest, accompanied by the sounds of heavy breathing and soft, breathy little noises. He reached a nipple, sucking on it gently, and the hips he was holding still tried to cant again as Emil cried out a little bit louder than he had before.

Perhaps a little too loudly, Tenebrae realized, as much as he appreciated the boy’s enthusiasm. He pulled away and moved back up Emil’s body. “Lord Emil,” he said, sounding a little breathless himself, “We mustn’t be too loud. If someone else were to come by to check on you, we would have to cut this short. And I don’t think either of us wants that.”

Emil shook his head, agreeing with the Centurion’s assessment. If someone else were to see this he’d probably die from embarrassment. If it was Marta, he’d probably be dead for real. Either way it was definitely not how he wanted the evening to end.

Tenebrae, satisfied that he’d at least made an attempt, went back to kissing Emil. He knew the boy probably wouldn’t be able to actually keep quiet in the end, but… his mind moved quickly, working out the problem while he lingered over the other’s lips. There was no point, he decided quickly, in drawing things out too long. He wasn’t sure Emil would be up for something drawn out at this point anyway, with a day of fighting behind them, and another awaiting them tomorrow.

He removed the restraining hand from Emil’s hip to place it on the boy’s cock. He began to stroke, gently at first, and then with increasing speed as the boy beneath him began to moan against his mouth in earnest. It took only a few moments for Emil to come over his fist, as worked up as he had become. For a normal adult it might have taken more, but for Emil, who was still so new to being human and was stuck in the form of a teenage boy as well, it was more than enough. Tenebrae wiped his hand on the bedsheets and sat up on his knees, allowing the boy to catch his breath. Emil watched him, somewhat groggily as the rush of his first orgasm began wearing off. Or at least his first orgasm at the hands of another, Tenebrae corrected himself, though he wasn’t sure how much faith he had in the boy taking matters into his own hands if left to his own devices, really.

“Feeling better?” he asked, kindly.

Emil nodded, “But what about you? Did you…?”

“That’s not necessary, Lord Emil, though I appreciate the thought.” He climbed out from between the boy’s legs and settled down next to him. “Anyway, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow. I suggest you get some rest.”

“But that’s not fair to you.”

“A lot of things are unfair, Lord Emil, but this is not one of them.” What awaited them tomorrow, that was unfair. Unfair to everyone involved. Emil looked like he wanted to argue the point. “If you still feel that way in the morning, perhaps we can discuss it again then.”  
After a moment Emil sighed in resignation. He was quite tired now, after all, though he felt better than he had for a long time. “You’ll stay?” He asked, sleep starting to take over.

“Of course, Lord Emil,” he replied as he shifted the boy just enough to get the blankets out from underneath him. He tucked him in and settled down beside him, “Of course I’ll stay.”


End file.
